5Part II to be subject to provisions of Part III

Actions of contract and tort and certain other actions

6Limitation of actions of contract and tort and certain other actions

(1) Save as hereinafter provided the following actions shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued, that is to say-

(a)actions founded on a contract or on tort;

(b)actions to enforce a recognisance;

(c)actions to enforce an award;

(d)actions to recover any sum recoverable by virtue of any written law other than a penalty or forfeiture or of a sum by way of penalty or forfeiture.

(2) An action for an account shall not be brought in respect of any matter which arose more than six years before the commencement of the action.

(3) An action upon any judgment shall not be brought after the expiration of twelve years from the date on which the judgment became enforceable and no arrears of interest in respect of any judgment debt shall be recovered after the expiration of six years from the date on which the interest became due.

(4) An action to recover any penalty or forfeiture or sum by way of penalty or forfeiture recoverable by virtue of any written law shall not be brought after the expiration of one year from the date on which the cause of action accrued:

Provided that for the purpose of this subsection the expression "penalty" shall not include a fine to which a person is liable on conviction for a criminal offence.

(5) Nothing in this section shall apply to-

(a)any cause of action within the Admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court which is enforceable in rem other than an action to recover the wages of seamen, or

(b)any action to recover money secured by any mortgage of or charge on land or personal property.

(6) Subject to sections 22 and 32 of this Act the provisions of this section shall apply (if necessary by analogy) to all claims for specific performance of a contract or for an injunction or for other equitable relief whether the same be founded upon any contract or tort or upon any trust or other ground in equity.

7Limitation in case of successive conversions and extinction of title of owner of converted goods

(1) Where any cause of action in respect of the conversion or wrongful detention of a chattel has accrued to any person and before he recovers possession of the chattel, a further conversion or wrongful detention takes place, no action shall be brought in respect of the further conversion or detention after the expiration of six years from the accrual of the cause of action in respect of the original conversion or detention.

(2) Where any such cause of action has accrued to any person and the period prescribed for bringing that action and for bringing any action in respect of such a further conversion or wrongful detention as aforesaid has expired and he has not during that period recovered possession of the chattel the title of that person to the chattel shall be extinguished.

8Limitation of certain actions in respect of revenue matters

An action-

(a)to set aside a sale in pursuance of the order of a Collector or other officer of revenue;

(b)to set aside a sale for arrears of Government, or State revenue or for any demand recoverable as such arrears;

(c)to set aside any attachment, lease or transfer of immovable property by the revenue authorities for arrears of Government, or State revenue;

(d)against the Government or the Government of any State to recover money paid under protest in satisfaction of a claim made by the revenue authorities on account of arrears of revenue or on account of demands recoverable as such arrears,

shall not be brought after the expiration of one year from the date on which the sale is confirmed or would otherwise have become final or conclusive had no such action been brought or when the attachment ceased or transfer or payment was made, as the case may be.

Actions to recover land and rent

9Limitation of actions to recover land

(1) No action shall be brought by any person to recover any land after the expiration of twelve years from the date on which the right of action accrued to him, or if it first accrued to some person through whom he claims, to that person.

(2) Nothing in this section or in subsection 11(2) of this Act shall be deemed to affect the Government Proceedings Act 1956 [Act 359], or the National Land Code (Penang and Malacca Titles) Act 1963 [Act 518], or to apply-

(a)to the Ruler of any State, in respect of State land or land reserved for a public purpose situate in such State; or

(b)to any person registered under or by virtue of the National Land Code 1965 [Act 56 of 1965], or the National Land Code (Penang and Malacca Titles) Act 1963, as the proprietor of the land sought to be recovered, or to any person claiming through a person so registered, except to the extent that such Code or Act so provides or permits.

10Accrual of right of claim in case of present interests in land

(1) Where the person bringing an action to recover land or some person through whom he claims has been in possession thereof and has, whilst entitled thereto, been dispossessed or
discontinued his possession, the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of the dispossession or discontinuance.

(2) Where any person brings an action to recover any land of a deceased person whether under a will or intestacy and the deceased person was on the date of his death in possession of the land and was the last person entitled to the land to be in possession thereof the cause of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of his death.

(3) Where any person brings an action to recover land, being an estate or interest in possession assured otherwise than by will to him, or to some person through whom he claims, by a person who, at the date when the assurance took effect, was in possession of the land, or in the case of a rent charge created by the assurance, in possession of the land charged, and no person has been in possession of the land by virtue of the assurance the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date when the assurance took effect.

(4) A right of action to recover land by virtue of a forfeiture or breach of condition shall be deemed to have accrued on the date on which the forfeiture was incurred or the condition broken:

Provided that, if such a right has accrued to a person entitled to an estate or interest in reversion or remainder and the land was not recovered by virtue thereof, the right of action to recover the land shall not be deemed to have accrued to that person until his estate or interest fell into possession, as if no such forfeiture or breach of condition had occurred.

11Accrual of right of action in case of future interests in land

(1) Subject as hereafter in this section provided, the right of action to recover any land shall, in a case where the estate or interest claimed was an estate or interest in reversion or remainder or any other future estate or interest and no person has taken possession of the land by virtue of the estate or interest claimed, be deemed to have accrued on the date on which the estate or interest fell into possession by the determination of the preceding estate or interest.

(2) If the person entitled to the preceding estate or interest, not being a term of years absolute, was not in possession of the land on the date of the determination thereof, no action shall be brought by the person entitled to the succeeding estate or interest after the expiration of twelve years from the date on which the right of action accrued to the person entitled to the preceding estate or interest, or six years from the date on which the right of action accrued to the person entitled to the succeeding estate or interest, whichever period last expires.

(3) No person shall bring an action to recover any estate or interest in land under an assurance taking effect after the right of action to recover the land had accrued to the person by whom the assurance was made or some person through whom he claimed or some person entitled to a preceding estate or interest, unless the action is brought within the period during which the person by whom the assurance was made could have brought such an action.

(4) Where any person is entitled to any estate or interest in land in possession and, while so entitled, is also entitled to any future estate or interest in that land, and his right to recover the estate or interest in possession is barred under this Act, no action shall be brought by that person, or by any person claiming through him, in respect of the future estate or interest, unless in the meantime possession of the land has been recovered by a person entitled to an intermediate estate or interest.

12Provisions in case of settled land and land held on trust

(1) Subject to subsection 22(1) of this Act, the provisions of this Act shall apply to equitable interests in land, including interests in the proceeds of the sale of land held upon trust for sale, in like manner as they apply to legal estates, and accordingly a right of action to recover the land shall, for the purposes of this Act but not otherwise, be deemed to accrue to a person entitled in possession to such an equitable interest in the like manner and circumstances and on the same date as it would accrue if his interest were a legal estate in the land.

(2) Where any land is held upon trust including a trust for sale, and the period prescribed by this Act (if any) has expired for the bringing of an action to recover the land by the trustees, the estate of the trustees shall not be extinguished if and so long as the right of action to recover the land of any person entitled to a beneficial interest in the land or in the proceeds of sale either has not accrued or has not been barred by this Act, but if and when every such right of action has been so barred, the estate of the trustees shall be extinguished.

(3) Where any land is held upon trust, including a trust for sale, an action to recover the land may be brought by the trustees on behalf of any person entitled to a beneficial interest in possession in the land or in the proceeds of sale whose right of action has not
been barred by this Act, notwithstanding that the right of action of the trustees would apart from this provision have been barred by this Act.

(4) Where any land held on trust for sale is in the possession of a person entitled to a beneficial interest in the land or in the proceeds of sale, not being a person solely and absolutely entitled thereto, no right of action to recover the land shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to accrue during such possession to any person in whom the land is vested as trustee, or to any other person entitled to a beneficial interest in the land or the proceeds of sale.

13Accrual of right of action in certain tenancies

(1) A tenancy at will shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be determined at the expiration of a period of one year from the commencement thereof, unless it has previously been determined, and accordingly the right of action of the person entitled to the land subject to the tenancy shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of such determination.

(2) A tenancy from year to year or other period, without a lease in writing, shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be determined at the expiration of the first year or other period, and accordingly the right of action of the person entitled to the land subject to the tenancy shall be deemed to have accrued at the date of such determination.

(3) Where any rent has subsequently to the determination of any tenancy been received in respect of the tenancy, the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of the last receipt of rent.

(4) Where any person is in possession of land by virtue of a lease in writing by which a rent of not less than ten ringgit is reserved, and the rent is received by some person wrongfully claiming to be entitled to the land in reversion immediately expectant on the determination of the lease, and no rent is subsequently received by the person rightfully so entitled, the right of action of the last-named person to recover the land shall be deemed to have accrued at the date when the rent was first received by the person wrongfully claiming as aforesaid and not at the date of the determination of the lease.

(5) This section shall not apply to any tenancy at will or lease granted by a Ruler or Yang di-Pertua Negeri or by the Government or the Government of any State.

14Accrual of right of action in case of forfeiture or breach of condition

A right of action to recover land by virtue of a forfeiture or breach of condition shall be deemed to have accrued on the date on which the forfeiture was incurred or the condition broken:

Provided that, if such a right has accrued to a person entitled to an estate or interest in reversion or remainder and the land was not recovered by virtue thereof, the right of action to recover the land shall not be deemed to have accrued to that person until his estate or interest fell into possession, as if no such forfeiture or breach of condition had occurred.